Independent Transformation Layer and Mask

[Constantin Adomat]

I just switched from PS to Affinity, but sadly the change-over is not as easy as I expected it to be. 

Lets say, I want to place a tree behind a house. Ill mask the tree in the shape of the house. Now I want to move or transform the tree in a certain way, but the mask should stay in place.

If I do that, the mask transforms as well. In Photoshop I could easily disconnect layer and mask, how do I do it with Affinity Photo?

[GarryP]

Welcome to the forums.
Unless I have misunderstood your requirements, there are at least two ways to disconnect a mask from a layer:
1. Right-click the mask layer and choose “Release Mask” from the menu.
2. Drag the mask layer outside the layer it is currently masking – drag it above the currently-masked layer in the layer stack.
Does this help, or have I misunderstood?
If I have misunderstood, giving a visual idea (screen-grabs?) of what you are trying to do might make it easier for us to give a solution.

[Gear maker]

Or do you mean? If you click on the thumbnail of the mask in the Layer's Panel so only the mask is highlighted.  Then only the mask will be moved/transformed.

Where as if you click on the image (or just about anywhere except the thumbnail of the mask) both will be moved/transformed.

[smadell]

It's way easier than that. If you have a pixel layer and an associated mask (as a child layer) just select the layer with the Move tool and either check or un-check the "Lock Children" box in the Context Toolbar. If the checkbox is NOT checked, then the mask will transform along with the layer; if the checkbox IS checked, then the child layer (the mask) will stay the same when you transform the parent layer (the pixel layer).

[Constantin Adomat]

Thats exactly what I meant! Thank you guys

[eobet]

There's a good solution provided here, but it only appears when you select the Move tool.

Two UX improvements would be:

1. Add a "lock transform" to the context menu of each child.

2. Add a small symbol to the layers panel on each child to show that they are locked.